Cloth marking and folding machine



Oct; 14 1924. 1 LSlLE H. A. WAGNER CLOTH MARKING AND FOLDING MACHINEFiled Feb. 21. 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

.Oct. 14 1924. 1,511,485

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INVENTOR. Hnp filrlanep Patented Get. 14, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY A. WAGNER, 0F TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE WILLYS-OVERLAND COM-PANY, OF TOLEDO, 01-110, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

CLOTH MARKING AND FOLDINGJVLAGHINE.

Application filed. February 21, 1921. Serial No. 446,923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY A. WAGNER, residing at Toledo, in the countyof Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Cloth Marking and Folding Machines, of which I declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to cloth marking and folding machines and has forits object to provide improved means for marking and folding cloth sothat the lines marked thereon will register when the cloth is folded tofacilitate the stitching of the cloth, the ma chine being adaptedparticularly for marking cloth used in the manufacture of Marshallsprings, formed by stitching the cloth at predetermined intervals toprovide pockets for receiving the springs, although it will beunderstood that the machine may be used for marking and folding cloth tobe used for other purposes as well.

A furtherobject of the invention is to provide an improved machine formarking, cutting and folding cloth to facilitate the stitching of thecloth to form pockets therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved machine forcutting cloth in strips of predetermined widths.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved machine forproducing a plurality of parallel lines upon strips of cloth and foldingthe strips transversely of the lines to bring them into registeringrelation.

With these andother objects in view the invention comprises certainnovel features of construction and arrangement of parts as will behereinafter more fully pointed out and claimed, it being understood thatthe machine embodied herein ,is susceptible of various modifications,both in the detailed forms of construction as well as in the arrangementof parts and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the particularembodiment shown and described, except in so far as the same is limitedby the claims appended hereunto.

A. construction illustrating one embodiment of the invention is shown inthe accompanying drawings in which:

Figure I is a side elevation of a machine embodying certain portions ofthe invention.

Figure'II is a sectional elevation taken on line II-II of Figure I'.

Figure III is a perspective view looking at one side of the machine withcertain parts broken away.

Figure IV is a plan view of the machine with certain portions brokenaway.

Figure V is a detailed perspective view of a portion of the foldingmechanism shown in Figure III.

Figure VI is an enlarged detailed section taken on line VI-VI of FigureII.

Figure VII is an enlarged detailed sectioai taken on line VIIVII ofFigure II, an

Figure VIII is a side elevation of that portion of the machine shown inFigure I which is constructed to be manually operated rather than motordriven.

Like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the severalviews of the drawings.

The present invention is adapted for marking and folding cloth and otherflexible material requiring stitching to complete articles ofmanufacture to be used for different purposes, the object of the markingbeing to produce guide lines upon the cloth the desired distances apartso that the sewing machine operators may readily determine at what pointthe several layers are to be stitched together. The invention furthercontemplates means for cutting the cloth into strips of the desiredwidth when the bolts received from the mills are wider than necessary,the cutting being preferably done subsequent to the marking and previousto the folding. In the present instance the bolt used is of a widthsutficient to produce three strips, each of which is folded upon itselftransversely of the lines marked thereon. It will be understood that itis immaterial what the cloth is to be used for, so long as it is desiredto stitch it along certain predetermined lines, serving as guide linesfor the sewing machine operator, whereby the work may be more quicklyand accurately performed. In the present instance, as stated above, itis desirous to mark, cut and fold each of the several stripslongitudinally along its median line, to form a series of pockets ofpredetermined width in each strip, the pockets being closed at one endby the folding of the cloth upon itself and left open at their oppositeends. The cloth is such as is used in the making of what is known asMarshall springs, comprising a series of rows of relatively small coiledspringsinclined within the pockets of the cloth and held securely inparallel relation thereby, the springs being used in the construction ofmattresses, seatcushions and the like.

Referring to the drawings, 10' j'epr'e's'ents a frame or tablesupported. preferably by three sets of legs as indicated at 11, 12 and13, which are connected at their upper ends by longitudinally extendingrails 14, the lower ends: of the legsll: being connected by thetransverse members 1 5, as indicated in Figure 111, The table isprovided at one end with the upright frame members 16 carrying the upperandlo wer brackets or arms, 17 and 1 8 as shown in: Figure I. A roller19 has its opposite ends journaled" in the upper end of the framemembers 1 6 and a somewhat larger roller 20 is spaced therefrom and hasits opposite ends journaled in the arms 17, connected with the framemembers 16 preferably by means of the bolts 21. The frame members 16 arepreferably tied together adjacent their upper ends by means of atransverse bar 22, the opposite endsof which preferably extend throughthe brackets 17 to receive the nuts Mounted upon the table 10' are thetriangularshaped upstanding brackets: 23' the upper ends of which areconnected with and adapted to support plates 24 which connected with theupright frame members 16 by means of the tie bars- 25 as shown in FigureL The frame members 23 are braced laterally by means of the upstandingbraces 26, the lower ends o fvwhi-c'h are secured to the table lf) andside rails 14 by means of the bolts 27. The arms 18 on the frame members16 are; tied together by means of the transversely entending plate 28-and also the tie rod 29 spaced therefrom and connected with the arms bymeans of the brackets 30 as shown in Figures I and VIII. The cloth 31may be disposed upon a suitable stand or table 132 at one end of themachine, as shown. in.

Figure III and is extended upwardly between the plate 28' and tie rod 29and then over the pulleys 19 and 20 and downwardly between the feedrolls 33' and 34 as shownin Figure VI. The feed roll 34 is frictiondriven and is yieldingly pressed toward the feed roll 33 by means ofsprings 35 seated in recesses 36 formed in the plates 24, the inner endsof the springs engaging the slidably mounted bearings 37 in which theopposite ends of the feed roll 34 are journaled. The feed roll 33 iscarried by a a shaft 38, the opposite ends of 'which arc journaled inthe plates 24, said ends being adapted to project through the plates toreceive the gears 39 as shown in Figure IT. The shaft 38' is provided atone end with bevel gear 40 meshing with a similar gear 41 on a shaft 42,one end of which is j ournaled in a bearing 43 carriedby the plate 24-and having its lower end engaging a sprocket 47 on a shaft 48 driven bya motor 49 through a pinion 50 and gear 51, the shaft 48 being journaledat one end in a bracket 52 on the platform 53 upon which the motor 49 ismounted. The opposite end of the shaft 48 is journaled in a bracket 54secured upon one of the legs 11- of the table 10' as shown at the leftof Figure 1-11. The shaft 481s also j ournaled intermediate its ends abracket 55 mounted on: the" platform 53;

The means for marking this cloth is mounted upon the plates 24 andcomprises preferably a rotatable tubular member 56 having its oppositeends: provided with trunnions- 57 extending. through: and'journaled inthe plates 24-, said trunnions being provided with gears 58 meshing withthe gears 39 on the shaft 38 carrying the feed roll 33. Bigidly securedupon the trunn'i'ons 57 are" Game 59 adapted upon rotation to raisetrough like holder-60, the opposite ends of which project through andare guided in openings 61 inthe plates 24. The holder 66 is yieldinglyheld in contact with the cams by means of the springs 61 engagingprojections 62 on the plates 24, said springs being: held againstdisplacement by means of the screws 63- threaded through the projections62 and extending partially into the springs; The ends of the holder arepreferably cut away and rounded: asi-nd icated at 64 tofacilitateoperation of the cams. The holder 60 comprises a pair ofspaced plates 65- closed at their ends and having inwardly turnedflanges 66 adapted to receive and retain a felt pad or other suitablematerial 67 upon which is superimposed a plate 68 having a plurality ofholes 69 therein, through which ink or other suitable marking materialisadapted to feed when placed in the holder from time to time. The plate68 may be forced into engagement with the felt pad to" com-press thesame by means of screws 70 threaded through the inverted U-shapedmembers 71 connected with the side plates 65 of the holder b means ofthe screws-72 as shown in Figure X II. The rotatable member56, driven bythe gears- 39 and 58 is; provided with a pair of oppositely positionedmarking strips 73 constructed of any suitable material the same beingadapted to contact with the saturated felt 67 on the downward stroke ofthe holder 60 when the endsof the latter drop off of the high portionsof the cams 59, said strips being adaptedto; contact with the felt ateach revolution of the member 56 and also to contact with the cloth 31at the point where it is carried;- over the feed roll 33. It will beunderstood that as many of the contact members 73 may be provided asdesired, depending upon the spacings between the lines to be markeduponthe cloth. In the present instance, for each revolution of themember 56 two lines will be marked upon the cloth transversely thereofin parallel relation. As the cloth passes downwardly from the feed roll33 it is fed under a roll 74 having at its opposite ends trunnions 75journaled in brackets 76 mounted upon the frame. members 23 as shown inFigures I and II. The roll 74 is provided with a plurality ofcircumferential grooves 77. Extending within the groove 77 of the roll74 are knives 78 carried by a shaft 79, the opposite ends of which arejournaled in bearings 80 upon the frame members 23. The knives 78 areprovided for the purpose of cutting the cloth into strips ofpredetermined widths previous to the folding of the strips in a mannerwhich will presently be described. The cloth upon leaving the knives isfed through the folders, which in the present instance are three innumber, to accommodate the three separate strips as indicated in FigureIV. A description of one of the folders will suffice for all, it beingunderstood of course that the number of folders depends upon the numberof strips of cloth the machine is designed to accommodate. The foldersare best shown in Figures III to V inclusive; the latter being aperspective view of that portion of the folder adjacent to the cuttingmechanism, which comprises a plate 81 bolted to the table 10 andprovided with an upstanding central frame portion 82 connected with atransverse end member 83 having arms 84 extending upon both sides of thecentral member 82. The arms 84 are adapted to carry a cloth foldingplate 85 the outer end of which is equal in width to the strip of clothbefore the. same is folded, said plate being of triangular constructionand tapering to a point and terminating at the inner end of the uprightframe member 82 upon which the plate rests. The plate 85 is alsoprovided with downwardly extending triangular curved cloth guidingportions 86 which extend inwardly from the outer extremities of the arms84 to engage the opposite sides of the upright frame member 82 at theinner end thereof. At the inner end of the members 81 and 82 is mounteda pair of spaced upstanding tubular members 87 each carrying an upwardlyextending pin 88, said pins being spaced apart and connected at theirupper ends by a tie 89 lying above the top surface of the triangularplate 85. Upon the pins 88 are pivoted cloth retaining and guidingplates 90 connected with said pins by means of the hinges 91 as shown inFigure V. The guide plates 90 are ofthe same general shape as plates 85and when in normal closed position as shown in Figure IV, form with theplates 85 and 86 a runway for the cloth, serving to fold it along itsmedian line and transversely of the lines marked thereon so that the twoextremities of each of the lines will register one with the other or substantially so, after the cloth has been folded.. It will be understoodthat the hinged plates 90 when closed, are spaced from the plates 85 and86 far enough to afford sufiicient room for the cloth to freely passbetween the plates. The plates 90, at their outer ends, are connected byany suitable means, such as the hook 92 carried by one of the plates andconnected with the other by means of the upstanding loop 98. When thecloth leaves the folding mechanism ust described it is fed between twovertically positioned plates 94 and 95 which are spaced apart asuflicient distance to permit the cloth to freely travel therebetween,the outer extremities of said plates being bent as indicated in FigureIII to cause the cloth to travel downwardly through the horizontallypositioned feed rolls 96 and 97 the opposite ends of which are journaledin brackets 98 carried by the table 10. By bending the plates in thismanner so that one of the triangular shaped portions will overlie theother the cloth will emerge therefrom with one fold traveling upon theupper plate and the other between the, plates as indicated at the leftof Figure III. The bottom edges of the plates 94 and 95 are offset orflanged inwardly as indicated at 99, said flanged portions beingdisposed upon and connected with the web portion 100 of a T-bar 101 bymeans of the transversely extending bolts 102, said T-bar beingconnected with the table 10 by means of bolts 108. The feed rolls 96 arecarried by a shaft 104 upon which is mounted a sprocket 105 over whichextends a sprocket chain 106 engaging a gear 107 arranged to drive abevel gear 108 meshing with a similar gear 109 on the end of the driveshaft 48. By this mechanism the cloth is fed through the folders and atthe same time is drawn under the roll 74 upon which the cloth is cutinto the several strips by means of the rotatably mounted knives 78 onthe shaft 79.

In the modification shown in Figure VIII the motor and driving mechanismhave been omitted and a crank 110 secured upon the outer end of theshaft 38 to rotate the same whereby operation of the marking mechanismis effected in the same manner as in Figure I, it being understood thatthe shaft 104 may also be operated manually by a crank to feed the cloththrough the folding mechanism if desired.

The sprocket chain 46 is preferably provided with a guard 111 connectedwith the upright frame members 16 by means of brackets 112 as shown inFigure I.

WVhile I have illustrated and described one embodiment of my inventionit will be obvious that those skilled in the art mayconstructmodifications thereof without departing from the spirit of theinvention and I wish therefore not to be restricted or limited to theprecise embodiment shown, except in so far as same is limited by theappended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tocover by Letters Patent is: I I

1. In a device of the class described, a frame, cloth feeding mechanismmounted thereon, a marking strip rotatably mounted adjacent the clothand adapted to periodically contact there-with, a spring-pressed holderprovided with a layer of material saturated with a marking fluid andmeans controlled by said feeding mechanism adapted to cause said stripto rotate and said holder to be moved outwardly, and thence inwardly bythe action of the spring to cause the saturated material to contactwiththe marking strip previous to contacting with the cloth.

2. In a deviceof the class described, a frame, a shaft rotatably mountedupon the frame and provided with a feed roll over which a strip of clothis adapted'to be conveyed, a member rotatably mounted adjacent said rolland provided with a marking strip adapted to periodically contact withthe cloth, gears connecting said shaft with said member to drive thelatter, cams driven by said gears, a spring-pressed holder provided withmaterial saturated with a marking fluid, said holder being adapted to beactuated outwardly by said cams and inwardly by the said springs tocause said saturated material to contact with said marking member andmeans by which operation of said shaft is effected.

3. In a device of the class described, a frame, a rotatable member formarking transverse lines on a strip of cloth, a holder saturated with amarking fluid, means adapted to periodically effect movement of theholder to and from contact with said rotatable marking member, adevicefor cutting said strip into a plurality of narrower strips, adevice for longitudinally folding each of said narrower strips, afeeding mechanism, and a common means for driving said feeding mechanismand rotating said rotatable member.

4. In a device of the class described, a frame, cloth feeding mechanismmounted thereon, a marking strip adapted to produce parallel lines uponthe cloth transversely of the direction in which it is fed,

a fluid holder for the strip adaptedto be automatically moved intoengagement therewith at predetermined intervals, means adapted toactuate said feeding and mark- 1,51 1 ,ase

ing mechanism, and mechanism adapted to fold the cloth so that a portionof each line will overlie or register with the remaining portionthereof.

In a device of the class described, a cloth feeding mechanism mountedthere-on, a marking strip adapted to produce parallel lines upon thecloth transversely of the direction in which it is fed, a fluid holderfor the strip. adapted to bev automatically moved into engagementtherewith at pre determined intervals, means adapted to actuate saidfeeding and marking mechanisms, and means. adapted to fold the clothtransversely of the lines.

6-. In a device of the class described, a frame, cloth feeding mechanismmounted thereon, a marking strip adapted to produce parallel lines. uponthe cloth transversely of the direction in which it is fed, fluid supplymeans for the strip adapted to be periodically moved to and from contacttherewith, mechanism adapted to fold the cloth transversely of thelines, mechanism adapted to feed the cloth through said foldingmechanism and common means adapted to actuate said marking and feedingmechanisms.

7. In a device of the class described, a frame, cloth feeding mechanismmounted thereon, a marking strip adapted to pro-- duce parallel linesupon the cloth transversely of the direction in which it is fed, a fluidholder for the strip adapted to. be automatically moved into engagementthere with at predetermined intervals, means adapted to cut the cloth instrips withthe lines runningtransversely of the strips, means adapted toindependently fold each of the strips transversely of the lines, feeding mechanism adapted to draw the cloth through said folding means andcommon means adapted to actuate all of said mechanisms.

8. In a device of the class described, a frame, cloth feeding mechanismmounted thereon, a marking member mounted adjacent the cloth, a membersaturated with a marking fluid, mechanism adapted to cause saidsaturated member to periodically move to and from contact with saidmarking member, means adapted tot move themove to and from contact withsaid marking member, means adapted to move the marking member intocontact With the cloth to produce lines thereon at predeterminedintervals, mechanism adapted to fold the cloth transversely of the linesand com mon means adapted to actuate said first and second mentionedmechanisms.

10. In a device of the class described, a frame, cloth feeding mechanismmounted thereon, a marking member mounted adjacent the cloth, a membersaturated with a marking fluid, mechanism adapted to cause saidsaturated member to periodically move to and from contact with saidmarking member, means adapted to move the marking member into contactwith the cloth to produce lines thereon at predetermined intervals,means adapted to fold the cloth transversely of the lines, mechanism forfeeding the cloth through said folding means and common means adapted toactuate all the said mechanisms.

11 In a device of the class described, a frame, cloth feeding mechanismmounted thereon, a marking member mounted adjacent the cloth, a membersaturated with a marking fluid, mechanism adapted to cause saidsaturated member to periodically move to and from contact with saidmarl; ing member, means adapted to move the marking member into contactWith the cloth to produce lines thereon at predetermined intervals,means adapted to cut the cloth in separate strips When marked, meansadapted to fold the strips transversely of the lines and common meansadapted to actuate all said mechanisms.

12. In a device of the class described, a frame, a cloth feedingmechanism mounted thereon, a rotatable marking member having aprojection adapted to contact with said cloth at each revolution, areceptacle carrying a marking fluid reciprocally mounted in said frameto move toward and from said marking member, and mechanism for causingsaid receptacle to periodically move into a position to be engaged bysaid projection.

13. In a device of the class described, a frame, a cloth feedingmechanism mounted thereon, a rotatable marking roller having alongitudinal rib thereon, adapted to contact with the cloth passingthrough said feeding mechanism, a receptacle carrying a fluid saturatedpad mounted in said frame to reciprocate toward and from said markingroller, and mechanism including a cam rotatable with said roller forcontrolling the movement of said receptacle.

14. In a device of the class described, a frame, a cloth feedingmechanism mounted thereon, a movable marking strip for the cloth, aholder provided with a marking fluid, means for periodically moving theholder into and out of fluid supplying position with respect to thestrip, and means for periodically moving the strip into engagement withthe cloth.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

HENRY A. WAGNER.

